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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28995930">One Man's Trash Could Be Another Catboy's Treasure</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miyanoai/pseuds/Miyanoai'>Miyanoai</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Catboy Goro, Catboys, Fluff, M/M, Trust Issues, Zine: Phantom Paws - A Persona 5 Fanzine, catboy ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:40:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,298</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28995930</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miyanoai/pseuds/Miyanoai</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After being abandoned by his owner, Goro is left to fend for himself. Finding another like himself leaves him conflicted on whether he can swallow his pride and accept his help and learn to trust once more.</p><p>A piece for Phantom Paws ~ A persona 5 catboys themed zine.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>60</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>One Man's Trash Could Be Another Catboy's Treasure</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Finally got around to posting my piece for the P5 Phantom Paws Catboys Zine. Just a short piece on Akechi being stubborn and Ren trying to help him. Hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sudden rain rushed down, bringing with it a much cooler temperature, chilling Goro to the bone even more after he had already become drenched before finding refuge. He watched as a few humans ran inside to get out of the downpour, hoping none of them owned the establishment that he was currently using as shelter. He had no doubt they’d kick him back out, uncaring of his fate. Such was the truth of the world as he’d recently discovered. </p><p>He was once an esteemed neko, lavished and spoiled with any luxuries he could imagine, living without a care. That is until apparently owning one of his kind was no longer the “in” thing to do. From what he could understand, his former owner was some big politician who used any means to get his rating up, including owning a popular pet. He never spent time with him, but had someone care for him so he would be in perfect health and always prepared for public appearances to show off. Goro never really minded, even when his nails were trimmed so short, he almost seemed declawed.</p><p>But it seemed those times were not made to last as he was promptly thrown into the streets the moment he was considered worthless. Of course after getting over his discombobulation, he’d wandered around the streets looking for a new home. Surely anyone would gladly take in a commodity like him. He acted as charming as possible, as he always had been around guests. But for some reason no one had any interest in him. Some had been nice enough to spare some food or a casual pet, but most had ignored him. And the longer he spent outside, the dingier he looked, eventually leading to him being kicked away or splashed water at.</p><p>After hours of trying to get around that day and the weather turning for the worst, he had finally found some salvation under a small awning of a darkened building. It looked like a café that had already closed. Curling up on the doormat, making himself as small as possible in the corner, he lay down. Eventually his exhaustion from the previous events overcame his paranoia and he drifted into a deep sleep.</p><p>~~</p><p>A warm, rough and wet sensation brought him back into consciousness. His eyes slowly fluttered open and blinked from the sunlight. His whole body ached, probably from sleeping on an uncomfortable cemented ground. Still drowsy, he could only barely sense the figure that was next to him as it leaned in closer. Before it could do anything though, Goro’s new survival instincts finally kicked in and he hissed and backed away even further into the corner, his ears, lying flat on his head. </p><p>The figure sat still, a bit surprised, but overall unaffected by his reaction. Now wide awake, Goro glared at him, getting a better look at his features. A boy, seemingly of older adolescence like himself, with short, messy hair and steel gray eyes, hidden behind large glasses. Goro narrowed his eyes as he also took note of the black ears almost hidden within his nest of a hairstyle and the fact that he was sitting in a crouching position. He was a catboy too.</p><p>He refused to move, eyeing his surroundings in better light in case the other neko decided he had run in on his terf, for he was clearly a stray given his appearance. Though Goro’s claws were blunt, he still had his teeth and he was smart; he could probably manage to get away. </p><p>But before he could enter a fighting stance, Goro sneezed and shivered. No surprise he may have caught a cold after last night. The other neko actually seemed to look at him with concern. He sniffed and got up, padded over to the building next door. He got up on his hind legs and peered around the ledge dividing the buildings, letting out a small mewl when the owner came out to do some early morning sweeping. Goro scoffed and watched in amusement. Last night he had figured out that that building must have been some sort of restaurant from the various smells coming from it and had already tried acquiring food from them, only to be whacked with said broom and chased off. This new catboy, aside from being actually dry and not covered in mud, didn’t look much better than himself and would surely be given the same treatment. But his smirk dropped as the owner regarded the other neko with a smile.</p><p>“Well, good morning Ren! Are you hungry? I bet you’re smelling my new salmon dish. Wait right there.” </p><p>The human sauntered back inside and within a few minutes, returned with a tinfoil wrapped package which smelled amazing even from his hiding spot. She handed it to “Ren” and gave him a scratch behind his ears, before going back to sweeping.</p><p>The catboy let out another gratuitous mewl and turned around, taking the few steps to plop back next to Goro, whose mouth was still agape from the display.  His growling stomach broke him out of his stupor and he quickly wrapped his arms around his waist in a futile attempt to calm it. </p><p>Ren carefully unwrapped the fish and offered it to Goro, who eyed him suspiciously. Why would he offer him food when no one else had? What exactly did he want? After a long moment of neither of them moving, Ren simply shrugged and placed the food down in front of Goro. Goro stared at it until his hunger got the better of him and he carefully took a few bites. The flavor exploded in his mouth and he let out a murmur of content as he devoured it within a few minutes. The other neko made no move to stop him and share, and he assumed that would be it as he began to walk away but only went as far as the assortment of plants next to the door. He looked under a few of the pots until he pulled out a key. </p><p>Goro watched him as he used said key to unlock the door and hold it open. His expression went from wariness to shock once more. Who was this neko that he could just walk into a shop, for he could tell it was a shop and not a home, so casually? Many public establishments didn’t allow their kind without special certificates due to their behavior patterns being more cat than human. Goro of course had one but there was probably no way to prove it now. Or perhaps the other neko had simply stumbled upon the key once and now used it to sneak in when the owner wasn’t around. Goro was not in the mood to get kicked again if they were caught.</p><p>Apparently his inner thoughts distracted him longer than he realized as Ren got impatient and grabbed his collar with his mouth and pulled him in. Once he did, he closed the door and casually strolled across the room. Goro stood at the entrance frozen, ready to dart at any moment. He glanced around, eyeing his surroundings. There were a few booths and a counter with stools. A very small café indeed. The lingering scent of coffee began to calm him though.  It was one of the luxuries he’d grown quite an attachment to and indulged in as much as possible.  It was also one of the few things he genuinely missed about his old life, a list he realized was slowly dwindling.</p><p>There was another aroma amongst the coffee aroma but he couldn’t quite place it. Spices perhaps?  A mewl from the other side of the room distracted him before he could figure it out. Ren stood at the end of a staircase. He tilted his head up and gestured at him to follow as he made his way up. Goro, simply because he didn’t want to be caught if anyone came in, did so. </p><p>He was expecting to find a dusty attic littered with boxes that the neko probably hid inside for shelter. What he actually saw… well it was dusty. But otherwise, there seemed to be an actual living space. With a bed, a desk, a couch, a scratching post, and various toys lying around. An average living space for a person who owned a cat. Or a cat person. Goro came to the conclusion that this Ren must have been domesticated after all. Yet he had no collar. And why did he live in a café rather than a house? He mewled questioningly but instead of answering, Ren handed him a warm, wet cloth which he must have gotten from  downstairs when he wasn’t looking. </p><p>Grateful for the chance to clean himself, Goro put his inquiries on hold and used the cloth to scrub the dirt off of himself. As he did that, Ren dug through a few stowed away boxes and pulled out some clean clothes. This caused Goro to narrow his eyes at him once more. He really didn’t understand why he was going out of his way for him like this. He was a throwaway, unwanted and worthless. This neko may have been the equivalent of trash in an attic but he clearly belonged somewhere regardless. Again, though, Ren seemed to get impatient and simply threw the clothes on his head and headed downstairs, most likely to give him privacy.</p><p>Goro sighed and went ahead and changed his clothes, struggling a bit as he previously always had his caretaker to do it for him. When he finally managed to change, Ren came back up, carrying two mugs. Goro’s ears perked up as the smell inside them was unmistakable. Coffee! He couldn’t prevent the small mewl of delight that escaped his throat. Ren smiled as his reaction and his own ears twitched in acknowledgment. He walked over to the couch and sat down, pulling his feet up and Goro followed suit, his vision drilled into the mugs. Once he sat down, he was finally graced with one. </p><p>He didn’t even stop to think where the drink had come from or maybe that it could have been poisoned. But it was delicious, so he didn’t care. In fact, it was better than any gourmet coffee he’d ever had. Once he’d taken a large sip and savored it, he finally wondered about its origins. He listened but couldn’t hear anyone else downstairs. Had Ren made this?</p><p>Come to think of it, even though his body was essentially the same as a human’s, aside from some contortionist abilities and much better senses, he was rarely given the chance to do any human things aside from the foods he ate. He’d always thought that was the norm but maybe… maybe he was more sheltered than he thought. He certainly rarely saw any other nekos in his old life, and if he did, they were always as pampered as he was. Ren didn’t seem to have half of what he did and yet, he seemed content? And he certainly had more freedom. </p><p>As he pondered over this, he didn’t notice when Ren finished his own drink and set the mug down. He grabbed a blanket draped on the side of the couch and spread it out over the both of them. Goro let out a yelp when he felt him cuddle into his side. He growled as a warning but Ren seemed undeterred and the growl became a nervous purr against his will. He even had the audacity to curl their tails together. The nerve!</p><p>But despite his annoyance and suspicion, it was the first time Goro felt safe and wanted since he was abandoned, and so he gave in, burying his head in the rat’s nest of hair, which was actually quite fluffy. Despite the caffeine, it didn’t take long for him to fall into a cat nap.</p><p>~~</p><p>It didn’t last long though, as the door to the café was unlocked and opened once more. The noise startled Goro awake as he was more on guard now despite his calmness. Bustling movement from downstairs caused his fur to rise up. Ren had also awoken from his slumber due to his unease. He yawned, unconcerned. Whoever was downstairs made their way to the staircase and headed up. Goro was frozen in place. His instincts really were terrible, he decided.</p><p>An old man became visible. Goro braced himself for shouting and anger at an unknown neko being on his property, but after the initial shock, he only raised his eyebrow.</p><p>“Oh, so this is what Futaba meant when she said get ready for a surprise at the store. Wonder how she knew.” Goro didn’t understand any of that. The old man sighed. “Jeez, warn me a little next time you’re gonna have a friend over Ren.” </p><p>Ren mewled pitifully in response, his eyes looking sad. By some miracle, the old man actually understood him! </p><p>“A stray, huh? Hmm, I have to open the shop now so stay upstairs as usual and we’ll figure out what to do tonight. Though seeing how buddy buddy you’re acting and knowing  Futaba, she’ll probably want to keep him.” And with a scratch of his cheek, he turned and headed back downstairs mumbling: “Yeesh, I really do spoil you two too much.”</p><p>Goro blinked at what just happened. Not only was he not kicked out, but was there a potential for a new home? Though he wasn’t sure how partial he was to this attic, it did beat the streets. Next to him, Ren curled back up against him and dozed back off, purring in his sleep. Staring at him, Goro figured maybe he could also grow to like this annoying, persistent neko as well.</p>
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